EFL renews partnership with IMG

The English Football League (EFL) has announced an improved multi-year partnership agreement with sports and culture company IMG.

The deal, starting with the 2024/25 season and running until the 2028/29 season, will aim to enhance and upgrade the EFL’s broadcast and streaming options. IMG will be providing multi-camera offerings and enhanced production value, including enhanced post-match highlights packages for partners and clubs, increased connectivity, and system resilience.

IMG will be producing 866 games per season for Sky Sports’ streaming services and an additional 832 matches that will be used outside the UK by EFL rights holders.

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Ben Wright, Chief Commercial Officer, EFL, said:

“The start of the 2024/25 season, represents an exciting new era for the EFL with record-breaking rights deals at home and abroad that will see a huge number of games broadcast and a new way of watching for fans of EFL Clubs. It was imperative that our Production Partner had the experience, expertise and capability to elevate our broadcast output across our competitions and after a thorough RFP process, it was clear that IMG could offer the world class service level required with the track record to match. 

“Having started this relationship in 2019, IMG understands the EFL and the needs of its Clubs. The enhancement of that relationship with increased output will provide significant benefit to Sky Sports, Clubs, partners and other affiliates. The partnership aims to put fans first, innovate and ultimately deliver an enhanced viewing experience for EFL fans everywhere.“

Barney Francis, EVP of Studios, IMG, added:

“We are proud of everything we have achieved with the EFL over the past five years, entertaining fans with more than 500,000 minutes of thrilling action, highlights packages and broadcast shows, and building a ground-breaking remote production that’s unrivalled in football globally. Our work with the EFL and major global football leagues provides unique, in-depth expertise and understanding of the technical solutions, innovations, workflows and reliability required to deliver a project of this scale through a fan-first lens.

“We are excited to take the EFL viewing experience to the next level for fans domestically and around the world, with upscaled production, enhanced coverage and continued innovation.“